A small flat in lower Tai Hang. There are some nice places in the area, but was curious whether living in Jardine's Lookout or Happy Valley or Braemar Hill had any real advantages/disadvantages or any uniqueness about them. Seems like they're all fairly similar - save for Happy Valley being more developed and closer to CWB.
Size? What's your trade off between first rate facilities vs size/layout?
At that budget my two top picks in Happy Valley would be (1) Leighton Hill. Seen as top estate with luxurious facilities, greenery and v convenient location. At your budget you'll be looking at one of the smaller flats. (2) Winfield Building on Ventris has decent facilities and nice size. Layout, size, room flow etc all feel a lot better than comparable Leighton Hill flats of similar price. The interiors just feel more thoughtfully designed for pleasant living vs how many flats can I carve out of this block and wring more profit out of a captive buyer base. Note you'd be at the very bottom end in terms of price range in Winfield Terrace but you could get lucky if a lower floor flat comes up for sale.
Many people love Pacific Palisades in Braemar hill. More green, peace and quiet vs Happy Valley but I find transport inconvenient. Having a car would probably make life a lot more convenient if you live there. So trade off - do you want to be somewhere green and quieter or able to walk everywhere within a vibrant local community with more noise and light pollution.
I'm assuming your budget is HKD35M in total, not downpayment of 35M, right?
Yes, 35M is the budget, not downpayment.
I mentioned it before but top notch facilities are not a requirement. I'd actually prefer not to be mired in big monthly management fees.
I had a viewing at Pacific Palisades and I can see the appeal for some people. The unit in question was roughly 900 sq ft saleable, 4 rooms, 2 bathrooms at 28M. However, the unit itself would require an entire overhaul as it was done up in a tremendously tacky way (wallpaper on the ceiling even!) and while renovation work is not terribly expensive, I'm not sure I have the patience for a total makeover.
I'll take a peak at Leighton Hill though!
And they're worth it. Even if you don't have a car, you can rent it out.
About the Pacific Palisades property you described - I personally think its overpriced. Similar sized properties in older buildings in Mid Levels for less / sq ft (as a benchmark) and also in our area in Pok Fu Lam.
Be prepared for a 3-4 month overhaul if you're looking at doing a renovation - more if you're looking at doing proper tear down / refurb which might include combining some rooms.
I live in Tai Hang and it’s very quiet - close to silent at night, even when it’s cooler / no air con background noise. Ten minutes walk down steps to Tin Hau MTR, and surprisingly easy to get taxis (never waited more than 5 minutes)